The Red Room August Strindberg (best english novels to read txt) đ
- Author: August Strindberg
Book online «The Red Room August Strindberg (best english novels to read txt) đ». Author August Strindberg
âConfound you! What are you doing?â exclaimed SellĂ©n.
âI used to do this in my college days at Upsala,â said Borg.
âBut you canât do that sort of thing at Stockholm!â
âHang it all, Iâm cold! I must have a fire.â
âBut thereâs no necessity to break up the floor in the middle of the room! It shows too much!â
âWhat does that matter to me! I donât live here. But this is too hard.â
Meanwhile he had approached Sellén, and all of a sudden he pushed him and the stool over; in falling the artist dragged the pieces of cardboard with him, exposing the bare floor-packing underneath.
âMiscreant! To have a perfect timber-yard and not to say a word about it!â
âThe rainâs done it!â
âI donât care whoâs done it! Letâs light a fire!â
He wrenched off a few pieces of wood with his strong hands and soon a fire was blazing in the grate.
Levin had watched the scene, quiet, neutral, and polite. Borg sat down before the fire and made the tongs red-hot.
Again there was a knock: three short raps and a longer one.
âThatâs Falk,â said SellĂ©n, opening the door.
Falk entered, looking a little hectic.
âDo you want money?â said Borg to the newcomer, laying his hand on his breast-pocket.
âWhat a question to ask,â said Falk, looking at him doubtfully.
âHow much do you want? I can let you have it.â
âAre you serious?â asked Falk, and his face cleared.
âSerious? Hm! How much? The figure! The amount!â
âI could do with, say, sixty crowns.â
âGood Lord, how modest you are,â remarked Borg, and turned to Levin.
âYes, it is very little,â said the latter. âTake as much as you can get Falk while the purse is open.â
âIâd rather not! Sixty crowns is all I want, and I canât afford to take up a bigger loan. But how is it to be paid back?â
âTwelve crowns every sixth month, twenty-four crowns per annum, in two instalments,â said Levin promptly and firmly.
âThose are easy terms,â replied Falk. âWhere do you get money on those terms?â
âFrom the Wheelwrightsâ Bank. Give me paper and a pen, Levin!â
Quick as lightning Levin produced a promissory note, a pen, and a pocket inkstand. The note had already been filled up by the others. When Falk saw the figure eight hundred he hesitated for a moment.
âEight hundred crowns?â he asked.
âYou can have more if you are not satisfied.â
âNo, I wonât; itâs all the same who takes the money as long as it is paid up all right. But can you raise money on a bill of this sort, without security?â
âWithout security? You are forgetting that we are guaranteeing it,â replied Levin, with contemptuous familiarity.
âI donât want to depreciate it,â observed Falk. âIâm grateful for your guarantees, but I donât believe that the bill will be accepted.â
âOh, wonât it! Itâs accepted already,â said Borg, bringing out a âbill of acceptance,â as he called it. âGo on, Falk, sign!â
Falk signed his name.
Borg and Levin were watching him, looking over his shoulders like policemen.
âAssessor,â dictated Borg.
âNo, Iâm a journalist,â objected Falk.
âThatâs no good; you are registered as assessor, and as such you still figure in the directory.â
âDid you look it up?â
âOne should be correct in matters of form,â said Borg gravely.
Falk signed.
âCome here, SellĂ©n, and witness,â commanded Borg.
âI donât know whether I ought to,â replied SellĂ©n, âIâve seen at home, in the country, so much misery arising from such signatures.â ââ âŠâ
âYou are not in the country now, and you are not dealing with peasants. Thereâs no reason why you shouldnât witness that Falkâs signature is genuine.â
Sellén signed, shaking his head.
âAnd now rouse that draught-ox over there and make him, too, witness the signature.â
When all shaking was in vain Borg took the tongs, which were now red-hot, and held them under the sleeperâs nostrils.
âWake up, you dog, and you shall have something to eat!â
Olle jumped up and rubbed his eyes.
âYou are to witness Falkâs signature. Do you understand?â
Olle took the pen and wrote his name in obedience to the two guarantorsâ dictation. When he had done so, he turned to the bench to lie down again but Borg prevented him.
âWait a minute,â he said, âFalk must first sign a counter-guarantee.â
âDonât do it, Falk,â said Olle; âitâll end badly, thereâll be trouble.â
âSilence, you dog,â bellowed Borg. âCome here, Falk! Weâve just guaranteed your bill, as you know; all we want now from you is a counter-guarantee in place of Struveâs, against whom an action has been brought.â
âWhat do you mean by a counter-guarantee?â
âItâs only a matter of form; the loan was for eight hundred crowns on the Paintersâ Bank; the first payment has been made, but now that Struve has been proceeded against, we must find a substitute. Itâs a safe old loan and there are no risks; the money was due a year ago.â
Falk signed and the other two witnessed.
Borg carefully folded the bills and gave them to Levin who immediately turned to go.
âIâll give you an hour,â said Borg. âIf you are not back with the money by then, Iâll set the police on your track.â
And satisfied with his morningâs work, he stretched himself out on the seat on which Olle had been lying.
The latter staggered to the fire, lay down on the floor and curled himself up like a dog.
For a little while nobody spoke.
âI say, Olle,â said SellĂ©n presently, breaking the silence, âsupposing we signed a bill of this sort.â ââ âŠâ
âYou would be sent to Rindö,â said Borg.
âWhat is Rindö?â asked SellĂ©n.
âA convict prison in the Skerries; but in case the gentlemen should prefer the Lake of MĂ€lar, thereâs a prison there called Longholm.â
âBut seriously,â said Falk, âwhat happens if one canât pay on the day when the money falls due?â
âOne takes up a fresh loan at the Tailorsâ Bank, for instance,â replied Borg.
âWhy donât you go to the Imperial Bank?â questioned Falk.
âBecause itâs rotten!â answered Borg.
âCan you make head or tail out of all this?â said SellĂ©n to Olle.
âI donât understand a word of it,â answered
Comments (0)